The marketing landscape is rapidly changing, and influencer marketing is growing as a powerful tool to resonate with audiences, especially Gen Z.Among the notable mentions are Topicals, his inclusive Gen Z brand, which has recently been named by Sierra Lena and love island Duo of Dami Hope and Indiya Pollack. This study not only highlights the evolving nature of influencer marketing, but also raises pertinent questions about ethics, trustworthiness, and the impact such collaborations have on both online and offline communities.
Founded in 2020 by Gen Z entrepreneurs Olamide Olowu and Claudia Teng, Topics has raised $2.6 million in venture capital funding to develop its beauty company. Two years later, after experiencing an incredible and explosive revenue growth of 3x in 2021 alone, the company announced a new funding round of $10 million led by CAVU Consumer Partners. Becoming a FUTURE 50 brand in 2023, full year revenue was expected to be in the range of $20 million to $30 million.
Information from its own independent consumer research shows that the brand uses a science-backed research process to develop products that address issues such as mental health and skin conditions such as eczema and acne. I am. “We will continue to use this research to create effective products that meet the needs of consumers, especially people of color.” , to become better product developers and have a much more granular understanding of people's needs,” said Roxana Ontiveros, Product Marketing Lead. This has allowed it to capture the hearts of the younger generation, especially through channels such as social media.
However, to remain relevant in an industry as competitive as the beauty industry, they must redefine their approach and choose the right distribution channels, including brand travel. Tarte, Revolve, Pink Honey and Topicals celebrated their third year in business by taking 16 influencers on a trip to Bermuda. Here are some of the brands that are currently capitalizing on this spend. On TikTok alone, his videos with the hashtags #influencertrip and #brandtrip have been viewed over 100 million times. “When we started working on incorporating brand and influencer travel into our strategy, it was new to us; we had never done it before,” he says, Influencer Marketing & Partnerships Sr. at Topicals. Associate Imanimos tells his BeautyMatter. “My trip to Bermuda was so amazing that I decided to do Detty December. [a kind of annual celebration that has become increasingly popular in West African countries like Nigeria and Ghana, when African diasporans travel back to Africa to celebrate the holiday season] 2023 in Ghana,” she continued.
As the name suggests, some people may think that influencer travel is an influencer trip. But there's a lot more to it than that, like thinking about the right products to take on a trip and thinking about the style of content that's unique to the influencer. “We plug and play with the style of content creators create, whether it’s GRWM, ASMR, a welcome dinner, a closing dinner, or something specific that’s included in the itinerary. We look at what works best for their audience and what is authentic to their brand,” says Moss. “The hero product we bring is important because it changes depending on the destination. In Bermuda's case it was 'Like Butter Mist' as it was something that many people used during the summer. For Ghana, it was a faded under-eye mask. ”
